Preparation and rate capability of Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ hollow-sphere anode material

Spinel lithium titanate, Li₄Ti₅O₁₂, with novel hollow-sphere structure was fabricated by a sol-gel process using carbon sphere as template. The effect of the hollow-sphere structure as well as the wall thickness on the Li storage capability and high rate performance was electrochemically evaluated. High specific capacity, especially better high rate performance was achieved with this Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ hollow-sphere electrode material with thin wall thickness. It is believed that this macroporous hollow-sphere structure has shortened the Li diffusion distance, increased the contact area between Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ and electrolyte, and also led to better mixing of the active material with AB. All these factors have resulted in the good rate capability of the hollow-sphere structured Li₄Ti₅O₁₂ electrode material.